Article 27 UK GDPR · the Netherlands
UK representative for Dutch companies
The Netherlands sells into Britain in a way that makes this obligation easy to miss: through fulfilment centres, dropshipping and platform storefronts, where the Dutch company never feels like the one facing the British customer. It usually is, in the sense that matters — it decides what data is collected and why.
The Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens has no British mandate
Your supervisory authority is the AP, and it supervises the Union. Britain has the ICO, which expects a representative established in the United Kingdom. Neither authority substitutes for the other and neither accepts a designation naming a company in the other's territory.
Fulfilment and dropshipping do not move the obligation
If a British customer buys from your storefront, your terms apply and your systems hold their order, the personal data is yours as controller — regardless of who packs the box. A UK fulfilment partner is a processor for logistics, not a representative for data protection, and its address in your notice answers a different question from the one the ICO is asking.
Platform sellers and the empty field
Dutch sellers on British marketplaces meet this as a compliance field rather than a legal letter. The field asks for a UK representative and is validated: an EU address is often rejected outright, and the listing is suppressed until something British is entered. That is the moment most of our Dutch clients appear, usually the same day.
Proof that survives a procurement check
A British buyer running vendor due diligence asks for the representative and then checks it. Ours resolves on a public register with a UK27 code, showing the mandate as live or expired at that moment. A signed PDF proves that a PDF was signed, which is a weaker answer than it sounds when a contract depends on it.
Wat er in de privacyverklaring komt
The paragraph belongs in your privacyverklaring, with the controller's details, and must name an entity established in the United Kingdom. We supply it in Dutch and in English. Your European text is untouched: a company established in the Netherlands needs no EU representative. Only the British line is added, and it carries REP27 LTD, its company number and its Suffolk address.
Who plays which role in a fulfilment model
| Your B.V. | Decides purpose and means | Controller — the obligation is yours |
| UK fulfilment centre | Packs and ships on instruction | Processor — not a representative |
| Marketplace | Controller for its own purposes | Does not cover yours |
| Payment provider | Controller for payment data | Separate from your obligation |
| REP27 LTD | Accepts the written mandate | Representative under Article 27 UK GDPR |
Platformverkopers en het lege veld
Dutch sellers usually meet this as a validated field in a seller account rather than as a letter. The field asks for a UK representative, and increasingly it refuses an address in the EEA outright. Until something British is entered the listing is suppressed, which turns a data protection question into a revenue question within a day. The designation and its verification code close the field, and the code stays checkable afterwards, which is what a platform audit looks for the second time round.
Questions from Dutch companies
We only sell through a UK marketplace. Are we still the controller?
For the data you receive and process about your buyers, yes. The marketplace is a controller for its own purposes, not a substitute for your obligations.
Is a UK fulfilment centre enough?
No. Logistics is processing on your behalf. A representative must accept the mandate in writing and be named in your privacy notice.
Heeft de AVG-vertegenwoordiger ook waarde in het VK?
No. The UK GDPR requires a representative established in the United Kingdom, and an EU one has no standing before the ICO.
How is the appointment evidenced?
A designation letter, a dated certificate and a verification code that resolves on our public register.
Appointed today, verifiable today
One annual fee, no charge per request. From €290 a year for the United Kingdom, €390 for the United Kingdom and the Union together.
How the UK service works PricingRead next
Do I need one at all?
The three-question test, and the exemptions that rarely apply.
What the ICO expects
Who writes, what they ask for, and how fast an answer is due.
Why one duty became two
What the end of the transition actually changed, and for whom.
Companies elsewhere, same obligation
What changes from one country to the next is not the rule but the route into it: the transfer basis, the regulator you already know, and how British customers reach you.
Selling into Britain from United States
The same rule, a different starting point.
Selling into Britain from Germany
The same rule, a different starting point.
What the ICO expects
The guide that matters most here.